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My Classic Carbonara Recipe

Carbonara is one of my favourite ways to enjoy pasta! It is truly the ultimate comfort food, and you won’t believe how easy it is to make using just a few simple ingredients. I have made a video on how I prepare this classic Italian dish using bucatini pasta. If you would like to see that video, click here. Below I will share the ingredients and directions on how you too can create this creamy, cheesy, and delicious Roman pasta dish! If you give my recipe a try, I know you’ll love it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

300 or 350g of Pasta – (I used Bucatini – you can use spaghetti, rigatoni, etc..)

1 cup of diced Pancetta (0.150kg) – (you can use guanciale or bacon)

3 or 4 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves of Garlic (you can add more or less, or even skip this step)

1 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (you can use Pecorino)

2 large Eggs + 2 Egg Yolks

Salt + Pepper (as much as you want, or 1/8 to 1/4tsp of each) + Salt for boiling water

Reserve 1 or 2 cups of cooked pasta water

(Optional, a splash of White Wine)

Directions:

Bring one large pot of salted water to a boil.

While the pasta is boiling, dice your pancetta into cube like pieces. Set asside.

Finely mince your garlic cloves into tiny pieces. (If you would like, you can use whole cloves of garlic and remove them once cooked for flavour). Italians go either way with this, some love garlic, others do not add it at all to this dish. I personally love the flavour it adds. Set asside.

One diced, add the pancetta to a large frying pan, as well as 3 or 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil. Cook on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Once pancetta starts to lightly brown, add garlic and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes, on medium/low heat, or until cooked to your liking. If your garlic starts to brown, remove pan heat and set aside for now.

Add 2 eggs, and 2 egg yolks to a small bowl, and whisk. Then grate the parmigiano cheese, and add that 1 cup to the egg mix. Add your salt and pepper and give the mix a final whisk. Remember the pancetta and cheese are salty, so best to add more salt later. Set aside.

Add the pasta to the large pot of salted boiling water. To cook your pasta so that it is “Al Dente” (not mushy – has more bite!) remove from the water 1 minute before cooking is finished (ex. I made bucatini that said to cook for 7 minutes, I cooked my pasta for 6 minutes). You can taste the pasta to see if it’s cooked to your liking before you drain it. When the pasta is almost finished cooking (about 1 to 2 minutes before) take 1 or 2 cups of pasta water and set aside to use later. Drain the pasta once it’s done cooking…

To the large pan of cooked pancetta, garlic, and olive oil, (if you removed it from the heat, add it back to a low heat now, then…) add about 1/2 cup to start of pasta water (if you have white wine, you can add a splash to deglaze the pan as well), stir, then add the cooked pasta to the pan. Your pan should be on a low heat. Add a bit more pasta water if needed. Then turn off/remove from stove, and add the egg mixture (eggs, cheese, and salt+pepper) to the pan of cooked pasta and pancetta mix.

Add more pasta water if needed. The starchy pasta water will make a creamy sauce in combination with the cheesy egg mixture. You can add more salt or pepper if needed at this stage.

Your carbonara is now ready to plate! You can grate more parmigiano on top (I can never get enough)! Buon appetito!

* This takes around 30 minutes to prepare and serves 2 to 4 people!

If you would like to see the video on how I made this recipe, click here. If you make this don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (@LaDolceLisa) & use the hashtag #LaDolceLisaRecipe so that I can see your creations!! I hope you give this recipe a try, it is one of my favourites and loved by everyone! Enjoy 🙂